Former drug exec named as health secretary

WASHINGTON — Turning to an industry he’s rebuked, President Donald Trump on Monday picked a former top pharmaceutical and government executive to be his health and human services secretary, overseeing a $1 trillion department responsible for major health insurance programs, medical research, food and drug safety, and public health.

The nomination of Alex Azar is unusual because HHS secretaries have tended to come from the ranks of elected officials, such as governors, leaders in academia and medicine, or top executive branch managers — not industries regulated by the department.

“He will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!” Trump tweeted in announcing the nomination Monday morning. Trump has a track record of making industry-friendly nominations, such as tapping former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and wealthy investor Wilbur Ross as secretary of commerce.

But Trump also has been a scathing critic of the pharmaceutical industry, as a candidate and as president.

Azar, 50, a lawyer by training, has spent most of the last 10 years with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, rising to president of its key U.S. affiliate before leaving in January to start his own consulting firm. He’s seen as an expert on government health care regulation.